Jen Rhines, a 2004 U.S. Olympic marathoner and the 2005 USA 15K champion, will run the ING New York City Marathon on November 6. Rhines, 31, was second in the BAA (Boston) Half-Marathon on October 9 in 1:12:56. On the track in 2005, she set a personal best of 31:39.47 with a sixth place finish at the Cardinal Invitational at Stanford on May 1 in 31:39.47, lowered that to 31:37.20 with a third place at the USA Championships and lowered it again to 31:26.66 in placing 16th at the World Championships in Helsinki. Rhines also set a new 5000 PR of 15:12.39 on July 26 in Stockholm, placing eighth. She won the 2005 USA 15K in Jacksonville in 49:21 and was second in the 8K at USA Cross Country and second in the USA 8K on the roads in New York in 25:54. She was third in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in a personal best 2:29:57 and 34th in the sweltering Athens Olympics in 2:43:52. Rhines ran in the first round of the 10,000 at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was the 2002 USA champion at that distance. As a collegian at Villanova, she won three NCAA titles outdoors and one indoors in the 5000 along with one NCAA Cross Country Championship. A sprinter in eighth grade who "kept moving up" in distance, Rhines is a Team Running USA member and resides in Mammoth Lakes, California with her husband and coach, Terrence Mahon.

Runner's World Daily: You used the BAA Half-Marathon as what we'd call a "tuneup" race, a good long race about a month before the ING New York City Marathon. Did that provide you with the sort of information you wanted at that point of your buildup? Are you pretty happy with what that showed you?Jen Rhines:Yes, I was pleased with it. I just wanted to get a solid effort in. I knew it was a hilly course and I thought that would give me a good indication of how my training was going for New York. I ran right around the time range I thought I would, but more importantly for me is that my legs weren't beat up after the race, and that was something I hoped would be the case. In the past, my quads have gotten beaten up after longer hilly races, and I came off it (the half-marathon) really well. So that gave me confidence that things are going pretty well for new York.

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RWD: You've won the Falmouth (which is 7.1 miles), and you've done the USA 15K a lot. Have you really run a lot of half-marathons?JR:I haven't really run that many. I think I've mostly run them in preparation for marathons.

RWD: After going back to competing as a 10K runner earlier this year after being an Olympic marathoner in 2004, how did you feel about getting back, after the World Championships in Helsinki, to marathon training? Do you like the fact that you can pretty much split your life up into two halves like that?JR: Yeah, I definitely liked it. It wasn't hard for me to transition into marathon training after Worlds because I'm really excited to run New York. I didn't feel like I was tired at the end of the track season. If I wasn't doing a marathon, I think I could have kept going. So I wasn't coming off of it physically and emotionally tired. I was just excited to get out here (to Mammoth) and get back into training, into the flow of things.

RWD: Were you satisfied with your track season, and specifically your 10,000 at the World Championships?JR: It was a PR, so I think you always have to be happy with that. I ran a PR by one second in the 5K (in Stockholm), so I was hoping to run a little faster. But overall, I think when you run PRs, you can't be disappointed with that.

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RWD: Compared with your buildup to the Olympic marathon in 2004, are you doing anything differently now?JR: I just feel like I'm a little stronger. I've made a couple of changes. The first is doing all my training at altitude. And I've been able to do a little more mileage, and I've done three workouts, like a tempo and two interval sessions, and a long run each week instead of just two workouts and a long run. I definitely have been able to add a few different elements and it's just been going well.

It's something I've transitioned into. I came back up here to altitude last January and did 10K training the rest of the year and I think that prepared me. I was doing three workouts a week then, but not as much volume as in marathon training. Just getting used to altitude again made me strong enough to be able to handle what I'm doing this fall.

RWD: You're originally from New York State and lived in Pennsylvania a long time, but now you're a full-time Mammoth resident. Are you happy about that?JR: Definitely. I love the East Coast, but right now, it's going to be good for us to be out here. I've been in California for the whole year and I'm enjoying it. Instead of thinking about what I'm missing on the East Coast, I'm just enjoying what we have that's great out here.

RWD: Your husband Terrence Mahon's job has changed a bit since Coach Joe Vigil has left Mammoth. How much effect does this have on you personally as a runner. Is he, most directly, you coach now?JR:He is my coach now. It works out great for us. We're able to be out here full-time together, whereas in the past, it was kind of being apart sometimes. That can be difficult. We have a great group out here, and it's just been going really well. Coaching-wise, with him coaching me, it works really well because we're in a group situation. I think it might be hard if it was just one on one.

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RWD: Deena Kastor was obviously on a different schedule than you, since she was peaking for Chicago? But back in August, for example, were you training with her?JR: We were on the same type of schedule as soon as I got out here (in the winter). She was just on it earlier. Alicia Craig is here, and Missy Buttry, and Kate and Laura O'Neill, and Lauren Fleshman. And Emilie Mondor's out here, too.

RWD: None of those people are really marathoners.JR: I do a lot of workouts with those other girls. I just do more volume, and longer tempo runs. We're still able to work together some.

RWD: Looking at the New York City Marathon field, what are your aspirations this time?JR: I think it's definitely a strong field, but I'm just looking to get out there and mix it up and be competitive with women that I've kind of looked up to who have run a little faster than me. I just want to move up to their level and just see what I can do. My goal is to average between 5:35 and 5:40 (per mile pace), and maybe start out on the conservative side. So I was thinking 1:13 to 1:14 through the half.

RWD: As her friend and a member of her wedding party, the victory by Deena Kastor in a major urban marathon, Chicago, must be pretty inspiring to you.JR: Oh definitely. What Deena's done even over the last four or five years is definitely inspiring.

RWD: You mentioned getting your 10,000-meter PR this year, and quite a few top Americans did that. The 10,000 seems like a hot event for Americans again. Do you expect that to be a highly competitive event in the U.S. again next year?JR: I definitely think so. Things came together this year for a lot of people who you knew had the ability to run well under 32:00. I definitely think it's going to continue. I think the 5K and the 10K are both going to be really strong events for the next couple of years.

RWD: And since she's running a 10K in Mobile, Alabama, can we assume Kate O'Neill (a 2004 Olympian in the 10,000) is finally healthy again?JR: Yes, she is. Yes, she's doing well.

RWD: You've done the New York City Marathon before, and at the New York Mini 10K and at the USA 8K in the city. Obviously, this is an experience you enjoy, coming to New York to race. To everything that's already been written and said, is there anything you can add to how special the New York City experience is for a marathoner?JR: It's definitely one of the great events all marathoners want to do sometime in their career, whether they're elite or recreational runners. It's something I always wanted to do. I always read about it since I grew up in New York State. I always read about Grete (Waitz) winning New York. It's just something I had in my mind since I was a kid. So I'm definitely really excited to go back, since the last time I ran there, it didn't go quite so well as I was hoping. So I'm glad to go back and have a good New York experience. And also, the New York Road Runners do such a great job putting on all their events. It makes them just that more enjoyable.

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